By John A. Wilkinson
From Bill MacKinnon is his article, “Into the West with Lorenzo Wesson, Class of 1846, Yale’s Forgotten Frontiersman,” submitted to the Yale Alumni Magazine for possible publication and now found on our website (Yale60.org) under Classmate Publications. Gold rusher, purveyor of frog legs, surveyor, Wesson became a legend on the western frontier.
Conrad Cafritz recently wrote for the email address of Peter Green and casually mentioned that he has a son enrolled in Yale’s first-year (freshman) Class of 2028. Think on it. Most of us have grandchildren college age or beyond, not children. At my urging Conrad wrote a short piece about this phenomenon, which has been posted under Classmates & Activities on the website. At our 55th reunion, Alexander, age nine, was challenging Yale professors. Now, at 18, he is doing that again.
Tuesday Teas continue to provide interesting talks and lively discussion. June featured John Bing and me on the appropriate role of college presidents in public discourse; August, Dr. Meir Kroger on sleep; and September will be Pericles Lewis, dean of Yale College.
Ted Stebbins wrote informing me of the death of Caesar Naples, followed by a note from Caesar’s widow. As soon as I receive it, the obituary will be posted. Caesar was a litigator in a large law firm and a labor negotiator for public employee unions. He worked for Nelson Rockefeller, headed a New York state agency, represented three universities, and started a highly successful math-science magnet school in Watts.
Several months ago, Jim Taylor alerted me to the death of Mike Harris. A telephone call with Mike’s son confirmed it, but I have yet to receive Mike’s obituary. Read his essay in our 50th reunion book, detailing his adventures as a full-time alumni auditor of Yale courses (three seminars, two lecture courses) in the spring of 2004. Mike commented on the enormous energy on campus and the challenging intellectual atmosphere. He described Yale as “well and thriving and a generally happy place.” He liked it so much he returned for a second semester.
If any of you know of classmates whose deaths have not been included in the In Memoriam section of the class website, please let me know.
Other obituaries recently added are:
Jonathan Blake. Rhodes Scholar and Yale Law graduate, Jon was a communications lawyer who helped shape legislation, licenses, and treaty provisions for satellites, cell phones, and broadband. He represented the Washington Post before the FCC in the Post’s ongoing skirmishes with the Nixon Administration and its allies.
Matthew Gardner. Middle school teacher, Navy intelligence officer, student of Asia at Johns Hopkins, dean at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and director of its Asia Studies program, Matt resettled in Maine where he served as president of its World Affairs Council, developed the Maine International Trade Center, and trained high school teachers to add Asian culture to their curricula.
Robert Vaughan. Robert regarded music as “sacred and central” to his life. He performed as a mid-Atlantic singer with church choirs, the Charlotte Oratorio Singers, the Baltimore Symphony Chorus, Trinity Cathedral Choir, and the Celebration Gospel Singers. He volunteered extensively in his home of Camden, South Carolina, for the arts, historic landmarks, and libraries.
Tempus fugit, sumus hic.